You know how the basketball floor at Minnesota’s Williams Arena is raised up? We’ve always sort of enjoyed that classic feel to the old arena, especially when coaches sit on the little stools above their team’s bench. We’ve also often wondered if teams especially prepare for playing on the elevated platform. Today Wisconsin’s athletic department posted a YouTube video showing how Bo Ryan prepares his squad for diving for a loose ball and falling gracefully off the raised court. Watch it in this post. Game starts at 7 p.m. ET.

Five women’s basketball games in the Big Ten tonight beginning with Northwestern at Michigan State. Watch highlights of Michigan State’s 72-58 win now, track all of the results on our Big Ten women’s scoreboard and jump inside this post for much more women’s basketball coverage including an interview with Purdue’s Brittany Rayburn.

You have your questions. And, as usual, I have my answers. Put them together and you have another BTN.com mailbag. Basketball is on the minds of many, which is why I rank my top Big Ten point guards in this mailbag. But interest in football never wanes so we talk about some recruiting, too. Heck, some spring practices will begin in less than a month, if you can believe it.

Is there a more electric player in the Big Ten than Minnesota’s Rodney Williams? Of course not. The 6-7, 200-pound junior forward from Minneapolis is a human highlight film, seemingly executing one jaw-dropping, make-your-heart pound dunk every game. Like, for instance, the 360-degree one in this post.

With the news that the NHL rivals Detroit and Toronto will face off in the University of Michigan’s football stadium next winter for the league’s Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2013, we thought of another hockey game played there two years ago. Remember back in 2010? Michigan won that game, 5-0.

The 1988-89 Big Ten basketball season was one for the ages and the league was stacked with great teams and players. Indiana was a powerhouse and Illinois would wind up in the Final Four. As the Hoosiers and Illini prepare to play tonight, (8 p.m. ET, BTN/BTN2Go) look back at this incredible moment from their 1989 game at Indiana.

Some stuff to read while you wait for the Illinois at Indiana game tonight, which will be highlighted by a battle of what the late Al McGuire used to call “aircraft carriers” between Meyers Leonard and Cody Zeller. That’s over 14-feet of uber talent that soon will be cashing checks with lots of zeros.